School to investigate Texas teacher

FORT WORTH, Texas --School officials are investigating complaints that a fifth-grade teacher punished students for being absent during the nationwide "Day Without Immigrants" demonstrations last week.

The teacher was removed from her classroom. Jan Shannon's attorney, Tanya Dawson, said the allegations are "totally without merit," the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported in its online edition Tuesday.

Virginia Aranda said her 11-year-old daughter and about seven other students were forced to sit in the sun without a drink for about two hours the day after the demonstrations.

Some parents said their children claimed the teacher insulted them and wouldn't let them have bathroom breaks at T.A. Sims Elementary School.

Aracelia Moreno, another parent, said she kept her 10-year-old daughter home in support of the demonstrators, but the girl spent all day working on a history project. She said the teacher told some of the students the next day that their history projects would receive a grade of zero "because they went to the stupid marches."

Sims, with about 815 students, is 75 percent to 80 percent Hispanic. Principal Rudy Valdez declined to comment.